Quare Dance: Black, Queer Aesthetic in Ballet is a multimedia installation that examines the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and ballet from historical and contemporary perspectives. The installation combines movement, images, text, and material artifacts to challenge dominant discourses on dance and identity, presenting important yet overlooked narratives. Quare Dance queers our understanding of ballet and the iconic ballerina, offering a fresh perspective on what ballet is and can be today.

The installation is a collaboration with Black queer dancers across time, including ancestors Josephine Baker, Bob Curtis, Katherine Dunham, and Angela Bowen, and present-day performers Alyah Baker, Kiara Felder, Cortney Taylor Key, Audrey Malek, Lee Edwards, Alexandria Johnson, William B. Fowler Jr, Leah Esemuede, Frankie Lee III, and Sade Jones. 

The opening night reception will feature an Artist Talk with Alyah Baker as well as a preview of her new ballet, Quare Dance & Other Stories, which will premiere at HAYTI, Friday, September 27th @ 6:30pm.

To kick off the evening we’ll also feature The Raleigh Rockers with a b-boy workshop @ 6pm. Movie begins at 7pm. Free please RSVP